Introduction to Child Labor Law

Although I am sure many older teens cringe at the label, the laws which govern
the employment of anybody under the age of eighteen fall into the category
of "child labor law". These laws are meant to shield minors from
exposure to dangerous occupations, while recognizing that as kids and teens
get older they are capable of working longer hours or in more challenging
employment.

Child labor laws vary between jurisdictions, often quite significantly. They
may have different rules as to minimum ages for employment, hours that can
be worked, and required permits. The following article presents an overview
of typical child labor law rules. For more specific information, please check
with the government office in your jurisdiction which regulates child labor.
Often, they will have websites, brochures, or posters which summarize the
governing rules and restrictions.

What's a "Work Permit"?

In many jurisdictions, before a minor can obtain employment the minor must
produce a "work permit", usually issued by the school the minor
attends. Generally speaking, the purpose of this requirement is to ensure
that employment doesn't interfere with school performance, and that kids who
are having trouble in school aren't being overtaxed by their employment. A
few jurisdictions require a physical examination before a work permit can
be issued. Some jurisdictions have never required work permits. Other jurisdictions,
finding that schools don't actually exercise any real oversight or fear that
troubled students will drop out if denied the opportunity for employment,
have dropped the requirement of work permits.

Restrictions on Older Teens (Ages 16 - 17)

Older teens face the fewest workplace restrictions. Depending upon where
they live, they may find that they are limited in the number of hours they
can work during the school year, and may also be subject to a limit on how
late they can work, often requiring them to be off work no later than 11 PM.
Older teens are also limited in their ability to hold jobs considered hazardous,
or to operate potentially dangerous machinery. This can include not only the
obvious, such as the operation of heavy construction equipment or employment
in mining or manufacturing, but also machines that seem more mundane, such
as delicatessen meat slicers. (When I managed a delicatessen back when I was
in college, my teenaged employees would sometimes ask if they could operate
some of the restricted equipment if they had permission from their parents.
Under the law, the answer is "no".) Most jurisdictions require that
minor employees of any age be given periodic breaks, depending upon the length
of their shift. Although the specific requirements will vary, it is not atypical
for the law to require a break of at least fifteen minutes for any shift worked,
and for a minimum half hour uninterrupted break for any shift more than four
hours in length. Where shift length exceeds four hours, a second break may
be mandated. There may be apprenticeship positions open to older teens, which
provide for some level of exemption from the legally imposed work restrictions.
Please note, though, that it is not enough to simply call a job an "apprenticeship"
to escape the application of labor law.

Restrictions on Teens (Aged 14-15)

Teens aged fourteen and fifteen are usually permitted to hold a significant
range of jobs considered to be non-dangerous in nature. They are typically
limited in the number of hours they can work, and the limits on their hours
extend year-round, although they are usually permitted to work more hours
during the school break periods than when school is in session. Some states
will not let teens below the age of sixteen work in places where alcohol is
being served. Typically, their work shifts must end no later than 7:00 PM
during the school year and 9:00 PM in the summer. Break rules are typically
the same as those described for older teens.

Teens of this age often work in grocery and retail stores, offices, movie
theaters, baseball and amusement parks, or at gas stations. However, they
typically cannot operate any machinery beyond that which would ordinarily
be found in an office setting (e.g., fax machines and photocopiers). Teens
of this age can usually work on farms outside of school hours, although parental
permission may be required.

Restrictions on Younger Teens & Children (Aged
13 or younger)

Typical jobs permitted to kids aged thirteen or younger include:

Newspaper delivery routes;

Baby-sitting;

Working as a golf caddy (usually with some restrictions);

Mowing lawns and shoveling sidewalks;

Employment as an actor or performer in movies, television, on stage,
or radio;

Employment in a business solely owned or operated by their parents;

Employment on a farm owned or operated by their parents.

Most of these jobs are in the capacity of an "independent contractor",
which often frees the employer from minimum wage laws, and also permits employment without any workers' compensation coverage.
Some jobs which might not otherwise qualify as "independent contractor"
positions, such as babysitting, are typically exempted from minimum wage laws.
In some agricultural areas, children aged ten and eleven may be permitted
to work outside of school hours to assist with agricultural harvest - typically
picking fruits and vegetables.

Please note the prior emphasis on the fact that many jobs available to younger
teens don't carry workers' compensation coverage. As a parent, before you
consent to your child's employment, you may wish to explore the safety of
the child's job (even if it sounds like it will be safe) by visiting
the workplace or touring the proposed newspaper route, and make sure that
your family has appropriate private insurance coverage.

Special Rules for Agriculture

In the United States, and in most other agricultural nations with child labor
laws, members of a farmer’s immediate family who live with the farmer
and are employed by the farmer in agriculture are exempt from nearly all child
labor regulations. While children typically are not permitted to work in their
parents' dangerous businesses, such as mining or manufacturing facilities,
before the age of sixteen, there is a long-standing exception for working
on your parents' farm. The parents are still expected to follow other laws,
such as those requiring school attendance.

Wages

The federal minimum wage applies to work by minors. Some employers try to
circumvent these wage rules. Unfortunately, in the agricultural sector, some
employers manage to impose long and onerous workloads on child laborers, while
offering compensation based upon productivity - compensation that falls far
short of minimum wage. There is typically far more oversight of workplace
violations in an urban setting than in an agricultural setting, and the word
"exploitation" can be too mild for what happens with the children
of some migrant farm workers. As noted above, there may be exceptions to minimum
wage laws, particularly for younger kids.

"Whose Earnings Are They?"

In most jurisdictions, the earnings of a child belong to the parent. This
is an old common law rule, which entitles parents to the proceeds of their
children's labor. Some states have modified the rule in response to abuses.
California, for example, created a number of laws meant to protect the earnings
of children from their parents, after the parents of some child movie stars
spent all of their money and left them destitute as adults.

Employers' Duties

Typically, employers are supposed to keep records of the ages of their minor
workers, and where work permits are required, they must keep copies of the
permits on file. If the minor is exempted from the law under an apprenticeship
program, or for any other reason, the employer is expected to keep documentation
of the exemption on file. Employers are also expected to be familiar with
the type of workplace tasks forbidden to minors, and can face significant
fines and penalties for ignoring those restrictions - something that often
occurs after a workplace injury to a minor becomes known to legal authorities.
As all workers' compensation claims are processed through the state, that
is often inevitable following an injury to a minor which requires medical
attention.

Parents' Rights

Typically, parents must consent to the employment of children below the age
of fourteen. Parental consent may also be required for older teens, but often
permission will be implied in the absence of objection. As noted above, in
many jurisdictions a child's earnings are considered to be the property of
a parent. If this is the case, a parent who does not want his or her child
to hold a job may be able to require the employer to issue paychecks to the
parent instead of to the child. However, most employers are happy to work
with parents to find a schedule that is not too taxing on a teen, and it is
often a good experience for a teen to hold a job.

I had a discussion with my brother recently, where he lamented that he could
not travel back in time and pay himself not to work over his high school summers.
He could not believe, in retrospect, how many days of his life he sacrificed
for what now seems like an unbelievably small amount of money. At the same
time, he recognized that he learned a lot of valuable life lessons from holding
a job, and that he probably would have gotten into a great deal of trouble
had he not been sticking to a work schedule. I am several years older than
my brother, and for many of those years he worked under my supervision. I
had the pleasure of seeing him develop a strong work ethic, and become an
outstanding worker. While I can certainly sympathize with the desire to recapture
lost moments of youth, on the whole I think he got a pretty good deal.